The festival’s theme this year is “Inspiring Places.” The 2009 Spirit & Place Festival takes place from November 6-15 in a variety of venues all over the metropolis, but especially concentrated in downtown Indianapolis, such as at the Athenaeum and the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Two-thirds of the funds donated by The Indianapolis Foundation will go toward the nitty-gritty operations of the festival itself, with the remaining $10,000 dedicated to funding a competition for new ideas for Indy. IUPUI‘s Polis Center is the creator and manager of the festival.

Other Indianapolis fairs and festivals, such as the Indy Irish Festival coming up in late September, tend to focus on one aspect of the diverse city. The Spirit & Place Festival is a unique community effort that attempts to mobilize, educate and inspire all Hoosiers living in greater Indianapolis to find their city’s strength in union. Other cities in Indiana would do well to take a page from this book.